The Zombie Alchemist
by agent000
Summary: Al, now a State Alchemist himself, has just made a discovery that could potentially be a powerful weapon in war...or their own downfall. No one living will listen to reason. This is a dead man's job.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello, everyone, welcome to my new story! Yes, this is another one of my weird ideas, heh. It's been bothering me for a few days, so I decided to write it down. I sure wish that I could quit starting new stories, and just finish all my old ones, but some stories just scream to be let out. So, yeah, here's this new story. Let me know what you think of it, and if I should continue or not.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. I don't own much, for that matter. Heh, I have a lot of junk, but hardly anything of value. Hehe.**_

The stranger slowly hobbled down the street. He was in a hurry, but the limp in his right led slowed him down. The people he passed by on the street turned their heads to stare at the man limping slowly by. "Don't stare at me," he would mutter under his breath as he pulled his cloak even tighter around his face. He knew that he wasn't a pretty sight, but he still didn't like being stared at.

The man continued to hobble along. Every time he had to readjust his cloak, another clump of hair would fall out. His body was deteriorating fast, but he had a job to do, and he was going to do it, no matter what.

Eventually, a car pulled up beside the man. "Would you like a ride, stranger?" asked the driver.

"If you would be so kind," said the stranger.

The driver opened the passenger seat door, and the man climbed in and sat down without a word. The driver nervously cleared his throat and asked, "So, where did you want to go?"

"I need to get to Central Headquarters," said the man.

"Do you mean the military headquarters?" asked the driver.

"Yes."

There was silence after that. This man just didn't say much, and even though the driver couldn't see his face, he could tell that there wasn't the slightest trace of a smile. It was kind of spooky, actually.

"So," chuckled the driver, "You want to get to the military headquarters, so the military headquarters it is."

There was no response from the stranger. The driver began driving, and tried to strike up a conversation with the man.

"So, are you with the military?" No response.

The driver cleared his throat, and decided to try again. "Are you from around here?" No response.

The driver nervously asked, "Is there anyway that I can help you, at all?"

Finally, the stranger spoke. "Tell me everything you know about the Elric brothers, especially the younger one."

The driver hadn't expected a question like that, but he'd do whatever he could to help. "I don't really know a lot about them, and most of what I do know is about the elder brother. I know that they are, or rather they were, very famous alchemists before the elder brother's unfortunate demise. The elder brother had even become a state alchemist at the age of twelve, which is the youngest on record. Both brothers were always trying to help the people as much as they could. The younger brother is now a state alchemist himself, as a matter of fact. They say that he's discovered something that could be valuable in war, and they're going to have him test it out soon. That's about all I know."

The stranger said nothing, but continued to ride in silence. The driver decided not to press the man to talk, as he obviously didn't wish to speak.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. "This is your stop," said the driver, "Good luck with whatever you're doing."

"Thank you," said the stranger, who then stepped out of the car without another word.

The stranger stepped into the building, and spoke to the secretary. "I need to see Colonel Roy Mustang."

"Colonel Mustang is busy right now, sir," she said.

"He's not too busy to see me," said the stranger.

"And who might you be?" asked the secretary.

"If he doesn't see me right now, his worst nightmare," said the stranger.

"Are you threatening the Colonel?" demanded the secretary.

"That's not a threat, that's a promise."

"Watch you step, Mister, this gun is loaded." The stranger turned to see Hawkeye pointing a gun at him.

"Long time, no see," said the stranger, "Feel free to shoot me all you want. You can't kill me."

The stranger turned back to the secretary and said, "Listen, if you don't get me in to see Roy right now, then I'm just going to march right into his office myself, and that wouldn't be pretty."

The secretary nodded nervously and signaled to Hawkeye to feel free to fire. Hawkeye shot two bullets into the man, who merely chuckled. "Like I said, you can't kill me."

"Are you…a…homunculus?" asked the secretary, not even sure why she'd bothered to ask that.

The man laughed. "I'm much worse than a homunculus, but I'm not your enemy. I simply need to talk to Roy. Now, are you going to help me, or do things need to get ugly?"

Neither the secretary nor Hawkeye could find a way out of this. They decided to escort the man to Roy's office.

"We're sorry, sir," said the secretary, "But this man seemed to have something quite important to say." Hawkeye did some sign language for Mustang to let him know to watch this character, because he seemed a little fishy.

Roy dismissed them and invited the stranger to come in. "I need to talk with you…alone." The stranger motioned towards the other man that Roy was talking to at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Mister, but you don't seem to realize just how important this meeting is," said Roy.

"You are the one that doesn't realize how important this meeting is," said the stranger. "I will tell you what I came to tell you whether this man stays or not, but I don't think he can handle what I'm going to say."

"I'm in charge of the group that is going to test Alphonse Elric's discovery tomorrow," said the man, "If I can handle that, I can handle whatever you dish up."

"Fine," said the stranger, "But I'm still not sure that you can handle it."

"So, what is it that you so needed to see me about?" asked Roy.

The stranger pulled down the hood of his cloak so that the two men could see his face. They both gasped out of fear. In spite of the missing clumps of hair and the rotting flesh, that face was undeniable. It was Edward Elric.

_**Well, that's the first chapter. Let me know what you think. If I get a good response, I'll update soon.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Heh, wow! I sure got some crazy responses for this story. Didn't expect it of me, did you? After reading all my other stories, you should realize that the only thing you can expect from me is the unexpected. Sometimes my stories are happy, sometimes sad, sometimes dramatic, and sometimes, like this one, a little creepy. Hehe...Like I've said before, my mind is a scary place. You never know what to expect._**

**_Anyway, hope that you enjoy this chapter. It's a little short, so I'm sorry about that. Tomorrow's chapter will be a bit longer. Please review though, and let me know what you think._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. No amount of wishing will get me the rights to FullMetal Alchemist, so stop asking! (No one's asked, but I figured that I might as well play it safe. Heh.)_**

The two shivered with fear as they beheld the face of the young man who had been dead for nearly a year. The man in charge of the testing group looked around nervously for an exit. Edward stepped aside and motioned with his hands that the man was free to go anytime he pleased, which the man took advantage of and darted out of the room. Mustang wished he could do the same, but he knew that he wasn't going to be afforded that privilege.

"So, Roy," said Edward, turning to face the frightened Colonel, "What's this I hear about my little brother being forced to test an explosive which he'd never even intended for that purpose?"

Roy didn't bother to correct him about his rank. Somehow, he didn't think that that applied any longer, not to a zombie, at least.

"W-We thought it would be useful in helping Amestris win the war we're currently in," said Roy, nervously, "We all know that there are risks involved when we join the military."

"Yes…But," said Edward, "The substance the explosive is made out of is highly unstable. Al had intended to use it as an energy source once it had been perfected. He was only transmuting small amounts of the stuff for his experiments to keep himself and everyone around safe. You're asking him to transmute a larger amount than he's ever done before. That amount of unstable substance will not only destroy all those involved in the experiment, but all those in the city as well."

"We have taken every precaution to keep that from happening, and furthermore…" Roy was cut off by Edward.

"Have you already forgotten that I've crossed over into the spiritual realm? I can see things you can't. I have come back to stop this catastrophe from occurring."

Roy continued to shiver, and it was definitely not because he was cold.

Edward continued. "This body was the only way I could re-enter your world, but it is quite inadequate for me, since it is not alive, or in good condition. Would you care to lend me yours?"

Roy gasped. Was Ed asked to possess him? What kind of crazy fool would say yes to such a question? Perhaps Ed wasn't even going to wait for a yes, and just do it anyway.

"This will be a lot easier on you, Roy, if you don't try to resist," he said as he placed his hands on Roy's desk and stared deep into his eyes.

Roy cast his eyes down at Edward's gloved hands. The right one looked normal, thought that was to be expected, being an auto-mail arm. The left hand showed the outline of bones showing beneath the glove. Roy felt a knot in his stomach. He was so glad that Ed hadn't bothered to remove his gloves. He really did not want to see that hand.

He looked up at Edward again and gulped. He could have fought against him had he been a normal living being, but what could one do against a zombie?

"Don't worry," said Edward, "I'll leave you body as soon as my mission has been fulfilled."

With that, he grabbed Roy by the collar, closed his eyes, and waited. The body of Edward Elric fell to the floor without its master's soul to hold it up. Roy knew what had just happened. He had just been possessed by Edward Elric. What was going to happen now?

**_Yes, I know, majorly weird. That's pretty much all you can expect from me, hehe. Hope you liked it though. Review, and let me know what you think!_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Heh, I think that most of you readers have something of a love/hate thing for this story: You are intrigued by the story, but hate it that the main character is Ed, since he's a zombie. Hehehe...Oh well, continue loving and hating it at the same time if you wish, just review! Heh._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. I pretty much don't own any characters at all, except for Katie in one of my other stories, hehe. I'm not very good at making up characters. Maybe I'll figure it out someday. Heh._**

There was nothing Roy could do as he felt his body being taken over by the foreign spirit. For the first time in a long time, he felt helpless, completely at the mercy of one who had once been under him. He suddenly wished that he hadn't teased Edward about his height so much when he was alive. People always told him that the things you do will come back to haunt you, but he hadn't thought that that would happen literally.

(Roy,) said Edward telepathically, since he was in the same body, after all, (You do not need to fear me so much. I am the same Edward Elric you always knew. The only difference is that I've crossed over, so some of my perceptions about life and existence differ.)

(But what are you going to do with me?) Roy thought back.

(I simply need an adequate body to accomplish my mission, and your name and rank will be quite useful to me.)

Roy jumped. Edward was going to use his body in order to pretend to be him? What was he going to do?

(We had better get my body taken care of, before anyone else sees it,) said Edward. (Either you could get up ad take care of it, or I can take control of you and take care of it myself. It's your choice.)

Roy knew that Edward was serious about taking control of him. Heck, he had been serious the whole time he'd been here. He wished the Edward would show more human-like emotions than he had thus far. It might make him seem less spooky.

Roy stood up, grabbed a blanket, and wrapped the body in it, so that no one would be able to tell who, or what, it was. It would be better for him to do this himself than to let Edward take control of him. He hated the thought of losing control of his own body. It really gave him the creeps.

He managed to slip out of the building with the body without too much question. After carefully placing the body in his car, he drove out of town, and found a vacant patch of land where he could bury it. He knew that he wasn't actually legally allowed to bury a body there, but there was no way that Edward was going to allow him to waste all that time getting his body back to Rizenbul when the very thing he had come to stop was to occur tomorrow. Roy would just have to come back here later, dig up the body, and return it to Rizenbul, and somehow come up with a good explanation of how the body had managed to come up missing in the first place. Somehow, he just didn't think that the whole zombie story would go over too well.

Later, back at his dorm, Roy was busy studying, and cramming all sort of information into his head at a rather fast pace. He had thought he knew all about alchemy and physics, and other scientific concepts, until he started reading these advanced books. They were pretty heady, and he so badly wanted to take a break from them, perhaps even go to bed, but Edward wouldn't let him. Tomorrow was a very important day, and Ed insisted that he brush up on his knowledge as much as he could.

"But, Edward," said Roy aloud, while rubbing his eyes, "Don't forget that I'm still mortal. I can't take the strain."

(You can take the strain for one night, even being mortal,) said Edward.

"Are you going to let me get any sleep at all?" asked Roy, yawning for the third time since the conversation began.

(Maybe, and maybe not,) said Edward, (The weaker you are, the easier you are to control. I'll need full control of your body tomorrow.)

"Then why must I do all this study?" asked Roy.

(Chances are good that I'll need your help,) Edward admitted.

"If that's so, could I at least have a few hours of sleep?" asked Roy.

Edward finally consented to let Roy have a bit of sleep that night. Edward hadn't been mortal for some time, so it was hard to remember the demands of a mortal body at times.

Roy's eyes flew open the next morning way before he was ready to get up. Edward was pushing him really hard, and he hoped that he wouldn't have to put up with this for very long.

Edward had taken control of the body, since Roy was too tired to do anything about it. So, after getting dressed and ready for the day, Edward about to walk out the door when Roy said, "Wait, you have to at least let me eat."

Edward sighed. "You know, Roy, your mortal body is really going to slow me down." Notwithstanding, he went and grabbed a piece of fruit and started eating it on the way out the door. Edward still remembered how to eat, after all, but he didn't personally feel the need to. Maybe staying in his dead body would've been easier, even though it was falling apart.

Edward soon reached the lab where the experiment was to be performed. Al and several scientists were there, as well as the man Roy had been talking to the previous day. That man gave Roy a nervous glance, and then continued on with what he was doing.

"Now, we will start the transmutation process," said the man. Al raised his hands over the table that held the elements with a transmutation circle, when Ed in Roy's body marched up and began pushing people out of the way.

"No, you won't," said Edward. "I cannot allow this experiment to continue."

"But, sir," said one of the scientists, "We've been planning this for months."

"Just the same, it is too dangerous. I cannot permit it."

The group leader look Mustang in the eye and said, "I had the feeling that this would happen after what occurred yesterday, so I took the liberty of getting orders from a higher officer."

The man showed a signed document to Mustang, with orders to perform the experiment. There was nothing that Roy could do about it.

(Surely, you're not going to give up that quickly?) said Edward, (I'm disappointed in you, Roy. You're grown soft since I've seen you last.)

(There's nothing I can do,) said Roy.

(Look through my eyes for a moment, and tell me what you see.)

Roy felt himself being taken over completely, and his vision began to blur. He shook his head to try and clear it, but it didn't help. Finally, the blurriness went away on it own, and he could see clearly, much clearer than ever before.

Roy stared for a moment, when suddenly he realized that these "spirit eyes" as he decided to call them didn't appear to be bound by time. He was seeing the future through his eyes.

He watched as Alphonse transmuted the elements into this highly explosive substance. It appeared he'd succeeded, when it suddenly exploded and killed everyone in the building. The explosion didn't stay in the building, but continued spreading throughout the city, gaining momentum as it went. He saw children screaming as their bodies were disintegrated by the force of this terrifying power. He saw women running and trying to hide with children in their arms. He saw entire buildings filled with terrified people crash to the ground.

He tried to close his eyes, to not see anything more, but these spirit eyes didn't require his eyes to be open. The horrifying images continued to play before him. The force of this weapon continued to gain momentum wherever it went, destroying everything and everyone in its path.

Finally, the smoke cleared, and he was able to see what was left of Central City…nothing. It was a barren desert wasteland. One couldn't even tell that a city had ever existed here.

(Please, Edward, don't make me see this anymore, it's too gruesome!)

Roy suddenly got his normal vision back, and he opened his eyes. He was still in the lab, and all the scientists were standing there, staring at him like they were wondering what had happened to him.

Roy didn't know what to do, but he couldn't just sand by and do nothing. Chances were good that Edward's spirit sight was quite accurate, and he wasn't just going to let that happen.

Roy suddenly felt his hand shoot up, and his fingers formed into a snapping position.

(Edward,) said Roy, (You can't just use fire alchemy through me. You don't know how!)

(I can at least try,) said Edward, (It's better than the alternative.)

(But you could burn all sorts of things up!) said Roy.

(Well, then would you care to do the alchemy for me? It has to be done, whether you do it or I do it, and you are indeed more familiar with fire alchemy than I am.)

Rou couldn't see any way out of this, so he snapped his fingers and burned up the raw elements on the table.

The scientists and members of the military that were present were furious…except for Alphonse, who was quite relieved.

"I wouldn't try anything rash against Roy, if I were you," said Edward, "I made him do that."

"You ARE Roy Mustang!" shouted one of the scientists.

"Are you sure?" said Edward, grabbing the guy's collar and staring deep into his eyes. The man started shaking. Edward indeed gave off a strange aura.

"Roy…Roy's been possessed," said the man, terrified.

"Indeed," Edward admitted, "I have possessed Roy. I'll leave him as soon as this whole idea of using Al's discovery as a weapon is put out of your minds."

Al jumped at the mention of his name. Most people just called him Alphonse or Major Elric, not Al.

The leader of the group started shaking and again looked around for an exit. Edward smirked. "I'm not going to let you escape so easily this time, seeing that you've caused so much trouble for Roy."

The man backed away from Roy as quickly as he could. The man knew that if this being knew about that incident yesterday, he must've been that zombie.

Al looked at Roy, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Really, Al," said Edward, "Just because I'm in a different body, you don't recognize me?"

Just then, Ed felt a spear being poked into Mustang's back. "Hold it right there, and don't move," came a voice from behind him.

Edward smirked, clapped Roy's hands together, and then turned around and touched the spear, causing it to fall apart in the man's hands.

Everyone present gasped. After a moment of silence, Al finally spoke up and said, "You're…my brother…Edward Elric."

**_That's it for today, now review!_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Hey, welcome back to the next installment! I'm glad to know that there are a few people enjoying my insanity, hehe. Hope you enjoy this chapter._**

**_Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. Did you honestly forget, already? I just told you yesterday! Geez, go take some Ginkgo Biloba, or something._**

Edward turned back around to face his brother, and smiled a genuine smile for the first time since he had come on this mission.

"Yes, indeed," said Edward, "I am your brother, Al."

"What are you doing here?" asked Al nervously, "Shouldn't you have moved on by now?"

Edward sighed. "I can't move on while my little brother's life is on the line." He looked into Al's eyes. "Maybe your joining the military wasn't such a good idea, since I'll always show up when you're in trouble, and I know how you hate ghosts."

Al coughed. Ed was right; he didn't like ghosts at all. How was he supposed to deal with his brother being one?

"Just relax, Al, okay?" said Edward. "I was actually hoping that I wouldn't be noticed for who I am. That's why I possessed Roy. I don't think that you would have been able to handle seeing me while I was a zombie."

Al cringed. This was just getting weirder and weirder. He really didn't want to deal with this. He wanted his brother back, sure, but as a living being, not as a ghost or a zombie.

The other men began to surround Roy. Possessed or not, they had orders to perform this experiment, and they weren't going to let anything get in their way.

The man who had first figured out that Roy was possessed grabbed hold of a metal bar and swung it at Roy. Edward simply jumped and did a back flip over the bar, and then turned, clapped his hands together, and touched the bar, causing it to disintegrate.

Edward then reached out and grabbed the man by the collar, and held him tight. He closed his eyes, and entered the man's body. Roy fell to a sitting position on the floor. He knew what had just happened.

"Colonel, are you alright?"

"He's fine," said Edward in the other man's body, 'He just wasn't expecting me to leave him just then."

All eyes turned toward Edward. He'd possessed someone else? If they tried to fight him, would he possess them too? This was getting creepy.

"I don't care which body you're in," said the leader of the group, "I'm not going to let you interfere!" He picked up a gun and pointed it at Edward.

"You cannot kill me, you idiot. I can't get any more dead than dead. You could end up killing the man whose body I'm in though, if you're not careful."

The group leader, forgetting his fear he had previously had, suddenly was consumed by an uncontrollable rage. He hated anything that he couldn't control. So, without thinking, he lunged at Edward.

Edward simply grabbed the man's shoulders as the man plowed into him, and entered this man's body instead.

The man panicked. Now he had even less control than ever! He began running around frantically, with Edward restricting his movements just the tiniest bit so that he kept running into things.

Roy had finally managed to stand up. "He'll leave us all alone as soon as this nonsense about using his brother's discovery as a weapon is put behind us. He already told me that. He's still the same person he always was, just not mortal."

The man that Edward possessed finally managed to make it over to Al. Nearly screaming, he threw out his arms and grabbed Al's shoulders.

"Let's go, Al," said Edward, who promptly left the man's body and entered Al's. Now it was Al's turn to panic, though he wasn't running around in a frenzy like the group leader. He really wasn't sure what to do, but he knew that he was quite terrified.

Sensing his hesitation, Edward took over Al's body, and ran like mad towards the exit, pushing people out of the way if they tried to interfere. If he could just get Al out of here, the experiment couldn't be continued, since he was yet the only one that knew how to do it.

Nearing the exit, Ed suddenly remembered Roy. He might as well save him, since he'd actually been helpful for once. Edward turned around, kicked another man out of the way, and then grabbed Roy's hand and bolted for the door.

Once outside, Edward shoved Roy into his car and then hopped into it himself. "Hurry up and go!" he shouted.

"Where?" asked a frantic Mustang.

"It doesn't matter, just get out of here before they catch you!" shouted Ed again.

Roy started up the car, jammed his foot on the gas, and lurched forward. He had to maintain an intense control of the steering wheel at all times, since he constantly had to swerve to avoid hitting anybody.

When he finally pulled out onto the street, he saw that there were several cars chasing him. He was going to have to try and lose them. He swerved to the right, and then ducked down a narrow side street, and then into an alley. The ones chasing him just drove on by. Thank goodness, he'd lost them.

He sighed and put his head in his hand. These past twenty-four hours had been really tough on him. He hoped it wasn't all for nothing.

Al squirmed. "Brother, please, get out of my body. I can't take this!"

"But I need to enter someone else if I am to leave you. I have to have a body," said Edward.

Roy sighed, "FullMetal, can you reenter your own body temporarily, at least until you really need a living body?" That was the first time that Roy had used Edward's second name since this whole thing started. He was beginning to grow more accustomed to Edward's presence, and so wasn't afraid to address him by his military name.

"Yes," said Edward, "I can reenter my own body for the time being. It's adequate enough for me when I don't have to fight, since it at least allows me to stay in this realm."

"Then why don't we get you back in your body for now? A possession puts a lot of strain on a mortal body, so we need a break," said Roy.

"Agreed," said Edward, "But you'll have to help Al, because I'm not sure how he'll handle seeing me that way."

Roy drove his car back to the spot where he had buried Edward's body, and quickly dug it back up. Edward placed Al's hands on the shoulders, and closed his eyes. Al had been kneeling, but he fell weakly to a sitting position as soon as his brother's spirit left his body.

Edward opened his eyes and sat up. Al gasped. That body was obviously dead, yet his brother could still control his. He had always wished his brother could come back from the dead, but not as…a zombie!

Edward stood up and wrapped his cloak around himself. There was no point in forcing Al to have to stare at his ugly face.

"Seriously, Al," said Edward, "You don't have to be afraid of me just because I've crossed over. I don't want you to be afraid of me. I still love you, and I was hoping that you could still love me too." Roy nearly let out a gasp. Edward's human emotions seemed to only come out around his brother. At least that answered the question of whether he still had them or not. Perhaps Edward would show him some of his human emotions when he got more comfortable around him. He hoped so, at least.

"Come on, Al and Roy," said Edward, "Let's get out of here before someone catches us. You two are in trouble with the law right now, and you can't afford to get caught."

The three people piled back into the car. Al was still nervous, Edward was still silent, and Roy was simply wondering what to do next. Edward was right, they were definitely in trouble with the law, but it was worth it to save the lives of countless thousands of people.

Roy started up the car and sighed. He couldn't very well go back to Central, what with the search parties looking for him and Al. He might as well just drive until he found a good place to stop.

He pulled out on the road, and began driving. He felt like he was in one of those fairy tales where the hero goes and saves the village, and is then driven out of town by the very people he saved. He sighed. Maybe this fairy tale would have a happy ending, and maybe it wouldn't.

**_Hope that you liked the chapter, now click that little button down on the left-hand corner of your screen and review. Heck, you don't have to type much. One of my more faithful reviewers just always types, "Cool" into their reviews. At least that lets me know that the story is liked, and it gives me encouragement. Like I said, you don't have to type much, just please review!_**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Hey, everybody! Sorry that I didn't update yesterday. fanfictiondotnet was giving me trouble, heh, so yeah, sorry about that. Hope that you like this chapter._**

**_And hey, just so you guys know, I can't constantly keep Ed hopping from body to body, can I? Hehe...He needs his own body some of the time, or else the plot won't move foreward. Heh. If you don't like that, then why are you even reading a zombie story? Is it because it has my name on it? Hehehe_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist. Nope, don't own it. I just like to make Ed think I do, so shhh...don't tell him._**

**_Ed: I heard that!_**

**_Oops._**

Roy drove his car for a while, way out into the woods. Finally, when he couldn't drive the car any farther, he stopped the car and announced that they would have to walk the rest of the way to a safe hiding place.

The three people climbed out of the car and began making their way through the dense woods. Edward was the slowest of the three, since he was trying hard not to make his body fall apart too much. He didn't know how long he was going to have to use it, after all.

Finally, after a few hours of pushing through the dense underbrush, they came upon a clearing. Roy and Al decided that that would be as good a place as any to make camp. Ed didn't really care, since he didn't feel the need to rest, but he let them make the decision about that, since he was no longer mortal, and couldn't tune into mortal needs any longer.

A short time later, after a bunch of dead branches had been gathered and Roy had started the fire, the three people were sitting around it. Roy and Al asked in its warmth, which was something that Ed couldn't enjoy, but he did enjoy watching the flames themselves.

Edward sighed and pulled his cloak even tighter over his face. He had never bothered to look at himself in a mirror, but he wondered how ugly he was. His face must've been pretty gruesome to make people react to him the way they did. Even Al reacted negatively to him. His own brother was afraid of him. He choked back a sob. He knew he wasn't supposed to cry. Zombies didn't cry, did they? He couldn't have cried anyway, even if he'd wanted to. Only a living body can produce tears.

Roy broke the awkward silence by saying, "So, FullMetal, what's it like…you know…being dead?"

Edward readjusted his cloak. "It's not like anything, it just is. It's a perfectly natural part of existence, so most people can accept it fairly well. I, on the other hand…" His voice trailed off.

Roy understood. He had died quite young, and probably wasn't ready to let go of his life yet, and definitely not his brother. Al finally got the courage to speak. "Brother…are you crying?" Al had noticed the moodiness that his brother seemed to be displaying, and strangely, grew concerned.

"Of course I'm not crying!" Edward yelled, "Zombies don't cry!" His voice cracked, and he lowered his head.

"That was pretty close to a cry," said Al, "You still wish you were alive, don't you?"

Edward lifted his head back up and looked into Al's face. "Al, you have no idea just how much I wish for that, every moment of every day. I hate being dead, and having to watch helplessly as you struggle through the day."

"You've been watching me?" asked Al.

"Every second of every day," answered Edward. "You're dearer to me than anything. Even death can't change that."

Tears began to run down Al's cheeks. This really was his brother, living or not. He didn't see any reason to be afraid of him any longer.

"Brother, I'm sorry that I was so afraid of you. It just took me awhile to accept the situation. I still love you, and I always will."

"You…still love me?" Edward's voice was shaky. Had he been able to cry, he would have been crying rivers right then.

"Yes, I still love you," said Al, reaching out to touch Ed's shoulder. It was an eerie feeling, since his shoulder was cold and devoid of life, but Al wanted his brother to know that he wasn't going to be afraid of him anymore.

Roy flinched. He was so touched to see the brothers' love that transcended even death. He'd never seen that kind of love and devotion anywhere else.

After Al and Roy had eaten a simple meal that they had cooked over the fire, they lay down and prepared to go to sleep. Al couldn't sleep just yet, however, so he crawled over next to Edward.

"Brother, are you awake?"

"I'm always awake. I don't sleep anymore."

"Oh…right," said Al, awkwardly, "Can I come and chat with you until I'm ready to fall asleep?"

"Be my guest," said Edward.

Al lay himself down next to Edward, and placed his hands behind his head. "Remember how we used to look up at the stars like this when we were young?"

"I remember," said Edward, "And we also used to make up our own constellations and create stories to go with them."

"I remember that," Al chuckled. "I wonder what's beyond the stars."

"Beyond the stars are many other galaxies full of stars, all contained in this same universe," said Edward, "But there are many other universes too, each with their own millions and billions of galaxies with millions and billions of stars."

Al chuckled. "Is that one of the perks of being dead, having access to knowledge like that?"

Edward half-smiled, "I guess, when you put it that way. It still doesn't beat living though."

"Some people actually welcome death though," said Al, "Is it really as miserable as you say it is?"

Edward sighed. "No, death is not the enemy. I just died before my time, and I'm still having a hard time dealing with that. I should be alive now and in the prime of youth, not dead."

"That is true," said Al, sadly, "You did die way before your time. I'm glad you're back though."

Edward sighed. "I won't be able to stay for very long though."

"Why not?" asked Al.

"Because I was only able to come here because I had an important mission to fulfill. Once I complete the mission, I must go back."

"And you don't know any way around that?"

"No," Edward shook his head. "If I did, I would have done it long before now."

"Well," said AL, "I'll miss you when you're gone, but I'm glad that you're here now. If you need to use my body again, go ahead. I won't resist this time."

Edward chuckled. "Thanks."

The two talked for a little bit longer, until Al finally started getting tired. "I'm afraid that I have to go to sleep, Brother."

"I understand, Al; have a good night's sleep."

"Good night," he yawned and then fell asleep almost instantly.

Edward continued to stare at the stars while the two men slept, since he had no need for sleep. Even if I can't be a living, breathing, human being, I do wish that I could at least spend my existence in this plane with Al, he thought. Isn't there any way, at all?

He decided that he would meditate on that the rest of the night, so he closed his eyes, and pretended to sleep.

**_Hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. For those of you who don't know, I just wrote a oneshot story called "Lost and Found Characters". It's really cute, so if you like cute, you should go and read it, hehe. (Heh, I have to advertise the story myself, being a oneshot, since it only appears once on the frontpage, hehe.)_**

**_Okay, now, if you liked the chapter, please do me the favor of leaving a review, please? Even if you just say "Blah" that something, at least!_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_Wow, lots of response to that last chapter! That's pretty awesome! Thank you all! Hope that you like this one too._**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own FullMetal Alchemist, but I like to pretend that I do, hehe._**

Edward's eyes fluttered open the next morning. Al and Roy were still asleep, so he was going to have to wake them up. He had seen someone coming with his spirit senses. Not matter what; he couldn't let them capture Al and Roy.

"Al, Roy, wake up, someone's coming!" he said as he aggressively shook the two men awake.

Al groggily opened his eyes and looked at Edward. Edward realized that his cloak wasn't on right, so he turned his face away from Al and readjusted his cloak. He wasn't going to force Al to have to look at his rotting, decaying face.

"What is it, Brother?" asked Al groggily as he let out a yawn.

"You have to get up and get away. Someone's coming, and they'll be here in a few minutes. You can't let them catch you!"

Al and Roy sat up, rubbed their eyes and yawned, and then stood up and started to try and make their way back into the woods. Their steps were slow, their heads were facing downward, and their eyes were at half-mast. They were just too tired to start the day like this.

Edward placed his hands in the small of their backs and gave them both a push. "You have to get moving NOW! They'll be here soon. Hurry!" He continued to push them both as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast, since he couldn't move his body very quickly. Finally, the two started waking up and moving faster. Edward tried to keep up with them, but couldn't.

"Don't worry about me," said Ed as Al had stopped to try and help Ed catch up. "They can't hurt me, even if they catch me, but they can hurt you. Just go, I'll catch up with you later."

Al was about to object when Roy grabbed his hand and said, "Your brother is right. They can't hurt him. We can't afford to have you get caught, however. We have to go." With that, he pulled Al's hand and led him deep into the ever-darkening forest, with all the trees so close together.

Edward continued to walk as fast as he could, but the forms of his brother and Roy were disappearing in the distance. He could easily keep track of them with his spirit sight, but that didn't help him to get any closer.

Suddenly, he heard something burst through the brush. He turned his head, and saw several military personnel come into sight as they tried to dodge the branches of the giant evergreens. He had to get away, and fast. Was he even capable of running? He could try at least. He picked up the pace, and ran faster than he had before tried in this body. It wasn't a terribly fast pace, but it was the fastest that he could manage.

"I heard something. Over this way, man!" Great. The men knew that he was around here now. He had made too much noise in trying to get away. He tried to predict their moves, so that he could slip out of their sight. His spirit sight helped, but this body was really slowing him down.

He felt the men coming closer. Any second now, they would see him. He readjusted his cloak, and continued running. At least he had been running in a different direction than Roy and Al went. If he got caught, at least he would have thrown them off their trail. Not all was lost.

"There he is, capture him!" The men were right behind him now. Unless he could come up with some magical way of escape, he would be caught any minute. He had to continue to try though. The father he got from Al and Roy, the better the chances for their safety.

Edward's shin caught on a large tree root that stuck above the ground. If only this body wasn't so slow, he could have predicted it. He felt himself falling, so he readjusted his body as best he could so that he could break as few bones as possible. Darn! If only he could just heal when he got injuries, he wouldn't have to strive so hard to protect himself.

He fell to the ground, and the men were instantly upon him. He was surrounded by these people who were all pointing their military rifles at him. He wasn't afraid of getting shot. They couldn't hurt him.

"We have you surrounded," said the man in charge of the group, "Now stand up and show your face, and you won't get hurt."

Edward stood up, but kept his cloak over his head. "You can't hurt me, and you really don't want to see my face."

The men pressed their guns closer to Ed and once again demanded that he show his face. Edward shrugged and pulled down the hood of his cloak. The men let out something that sounded like a combination of a gasp and a scream.

"Who are you?" The leader demanded.

"That information is even more difficult to deal with than the sight of my face," said Edward.

They demanded that he tell them anyway, so he took a deep breath, and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them back up again, he said, "I am Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist."

"You LIE!" screamed the man, "The FullMetal Alchemist died a year ago!"

"Has is been that long?" asked Edward, "One doesn't notice the passage of time in the spiritual realm."

"You are NOT Edward Elric, and you are not dead! Tell us who you really are!"

Edward sighed. The idiot, didn't he knew a zombie when he saw one? No matter, he needed another body anyway, and this man had a high rank.

Ed clapped his hands together, and touched the man's gun, tying it into a knot. He loved doing that, because it made all the onlookers make funny faces.

"That should prove my identity," said Edward, "Now, to prove that I'm dead…" He thrust his hands onto the man's shoulders, closed his eyes, and entered the man's body. Edward's body crumpled into a head at his feet.

"That wasn't actually a zombie," Edward said inside the man's body, since he preferred that this story not spread everywhere. "Someone was just playing a trick on us. Pick up this body and wrap it up. We'll carry it with us until we find the proper place to dispose of it. We can't have nonsense like this runny around rampant."

The men nodded and followed Edward's bidding without a second thought. Good, the cover story was working well enough. They didn't suspect the possession.

(What are you doing in my body?) asked the frantic man.

(I need a living body, and yours suited me just fine,) replied Edward. (Your name and rank are helpful too, as it makes it even easier for me to hide from view while accomplishing my mission.)

(My men will notice something different about my behavior. You'll be found out!)

(And what will they do if they do discover me? They can't prove that it's not you giving them orders. I doubt they would want to face a charge of insubordination.)

"Come men," said Edward, "We must return to Central. I have just received word that our presence is required immediately."

The men under Edward sprang into action without a second thought. Edward watched them bustle about, impressed that he could command people at his age. How old would he have been, had he lived? 21? Yes, he should've celebrated his 21st birthday a few months ago. He sighed. Poor Al had lost his brother at the age of 19, and so had joined the military in the hopes of carrying on Edward's spirit. Ed wanted Al to just move on, and forget about him, but who was he to talk? He couldn't move on even in death, because he was always worrying about what was happening to Al. Weren't you supposed to be able to shed all your earthly cares and concerns when you died? If so, maybe he hadn't fully died yet, because he just couldn't let go.

"We are ready to move, sir!" said one of the men.

"Good work," said Edward. Good work, he thought, I hope that that's what I am doing right now, good work.

**_That's it for now. Review, and I'll update soon, okay? Yeah! Hehe_**

**_P.S. I may or may not be able to update as often as before, now that I finally have a job. We'll see though. I'll be able to update a lot more often though once my electricity is back on. I have a computer at home, just no electricity or internet access. Even if I have electricity without internet, I can at least save time by typing up my stories on the computer instead of writing them by hand, so I should be able to update often after a few weeks' time. Wish me luck on my job, okay?_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Of all things, I have a job now, yet I still find time to write and update my stories. Heh, don't know how I do it, I just do. I'm exhausted right now though, so I need to get home and go to bed. (Yes, I work the night shift. Fun stuff.)_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Come back some other time for a witty saying. I'm too tired to be creative._**

After a long day of commanding the lower officers, Edward retired to the dorm room where his host resided. No, Ed wasn't the least bit tired, but his host was, and he didn't want to harm him.

Edward scanned the room and whistled. These accommodations were a lot better than the ones he had back when he was still alive. This man was a Brigadier General, so his accommodations were even better than Colonel Mustang's. He chuckled at that thought. Imagine him giving orders to Colonel Mustang.

He noticed a guitar leaning against the wall, so he went and picked it up. (Do you play the guitar?) he asked his host.

(Why are you asking me? Why would you even care?)

(Listen, just because I've crossed over doesn't mean I'm evil,) said Edward, (You should really be thanking me, because had I not shown up, you and your men would be dead right now.)

His host was silent for a moment, and then said, (I've played around with that guitar from time to time.)

(Do you mind if I try?) Edward asked. It was strange that he was trying to be so polite to the person whose body he possessed, but he really didn't like people to be afraid of him…unless he had intended it.

(Uh, sure, go ahead and try,) said the man.

Edward took the guitar and tuned it up. He hadn't played in so long, he wasn't sure if he still knew how, but he wanted to try.

He strummed a chord. Yes, that sounded right. He chuckled. He remembered how he and Al used to often communicate difficult issues using a guitar as a base for their communication. Basically, one brother would ask a question in song, and then hand the guitar over to the other for the answer. After they had started their long quest, they hadn't been able to do that, but the memories were just as pleasant. What was that last song they had sun, just before going on their journey? Edward strummed another chord. Yes, that's how it went. He strummed a few more chords and began to sing.

_Come and follow me, Brother; follow me on my journey._

_Though I cannot tell you just what lies in store._

_There could be joy and there could be sorrow._

_But we'll stick together, that's what brothers are for._

_I want you, I need you,_

_I'll follow and lead you,_

_Just please come along, I plead with you._

_Come and follow me, Brother, follow me on my journey._

_We'll soon end the pain, and we'll hurt no more._

Edward smiled, and then continued with Al's answer.

_Yes, I'll follow you, Brother; follow you on your journey._

_Wherever life leads you, I'll be there with you._

_Through every joy and through every sorrow,_

_Through laughter and crying, I'll be right there too._

_I'll help you, I'll guide you,_

_I'll be right beside you,_

_And when the time comes, I'll cry with you._

_Yes, I'll follow you, Brother; follow you on your journey._

_Through hardship and strife, I'll come closer to you._

Edward stopped playing, and sighed. A tear rolled down his face. It was a good thing that he was in a living body, since he hated not being able to cry. Many men try to hide their vulnerable sides, but now that Edward had crossed over, he realized how valuable a simple tear was. He closed his eyes, let out a sob, and started crying.

Back in the woods, Al and Roy had once again made camp, and were sitting by the fire, meditating on the events of the day. Tears began to prick at Al's eyes, and before long, he was crying, though he had no idea why. It was so ridiculous that he should be crying for no reason at all like this, but he was.

Roy placed a hand on Al's shoulder. "Alphonse, don't be too hard on yourself. I realized when I say your brother struggle with expressing himself last night how valuable the ability to cry was. Don't be ashamed of a few tears."

"But there's no reason that I should be crying," said Al, madly wiping away tears.

Roy thought for a minute, and then said, "I've heard of this phenomenon before, but had never actually observed it, because there are very few siblings as close as you and your brother are."

"What phenomenon?"

"Sibling telepathy," answered Roy, "Edward is probably sad right now, and so you are crying for him."

"Such things actually occur?" asked Al, wiping more tears from his eyes. Roy nodded. Al suddenly remembered Ed having said something about Winry crying for them when they wouldn't cry. She was like a sister to them, so perhaps is affected her too. Yes, the whole sibling telepathy idea did actually make sense, now that he thought about it.

"So, what can I do for Brother, since he's sad right now?" asked Al.

"I don't really know," said Roy, "But you could always try to send him some good thoughts."

That was a good an idea as any, so Al closed his eyes, focused on his brother, and tried to send some pleasant thoughts his way.

Edward stopped crying and wiped the tears from his eyes. He felt better now, though he couldn't say why. He felt…well…comforted, like Al had given him a pat on the back and said, "Cheer up, Brother, everything's going to be okay." A small smile played at his lips.

(You really are human, aren't you?) said Edward's host.

(Whatever gave you the idea that I wasn't?)

(Well…being possessed isn't the most pleasant experience,) said the man.

(Yes, I know, I'm sorry,) said Edward, (But I have a mission to fulfill, and I need a living body to do it.)

(Is it easier to fulfill your mission in someone else's body?) asked the man.

Edward shook his head even though he was communicating telepathically. (No, it would be a lot easier if I could be in my own body, but I need a living body.)

(What if I told you that my team of men just discovered something that could make that possible?) asked the man.

(You know of a way to bring me back to life?) said Edward, surprised, (Why are you telling me this?)

(Well,) said the man, (I just figured out how to tap into your thoughts, and I saw everything that has occurred in the past few days. I want to help you accomplish your mission in any way I can.)

Wow, this man was smarter than he thought. That could possibly be a good thing. (Show me this discovery of yours.)

The man got up, and went to the place where they had stored Edward's body. He would have to transfer his spirit back into that body once again. Sigh. Would the transferring never end? After placing the man's hands on his body, so that there would be a physical connection between the bodies, Edward reentered his own body, and stood up. The Brigadier General motioned for him to follow.

He led Edward to one of their storage facilities, where he retrieved a small metal box. Upon opening it, a green light burst out that was so bright and powerful that it even surprised Edward. The Brigadier General reached into the box and pulled out a green pendant, which became apparent that it was the source of the light as soon as he pulled it out.

"Wear this, and you will live," said the Brigadier General, "Take it off, and you will die."

"Do you mean that this stone can grant me life?" Edward was shocked and skeptical at the same time.

"In a way, yes. You see, the only reason that you're not alive is because you're lacking the energy necessary to sustain life. You still have a soul and body, but you're incapable of manufacturing that life-force energy that living beings do. This stone has a life force of its own, with plenty of energy to spare. As long as you wear it, you'll live." He handed the pendant to Edward, who promptly put it around his neck.

Edward gasped. He could feel something strange happening in his body. What was going on? He pulled off his left glove. The exposed bones were disappearing underneath a new layer of healthy flesh. That must have been what was happening in the rest of his body. He was alive!

"I can't believe it! I'm alive!" shouted Edward.

"Hush!" The Brigadier General clamped his hand over Edward's mouth. "We would both be in big trouble if we got caught."

Edward scratched his head, enjoying the fact that his hair didn't fall out anymore. "Oh, right. Sorry, I just got a little excited, I guess."

"I understand that, but you need to be more careful." The man paused for a second, and then asked, "So what's the first thing that you're going to do, as a living being?"

"The first thing I need to do is find Al and Roy before someone else does."

"Good plan," said the Brigadier General, "I'll do whatever I can here. If I can find a way to call off the search, I will."

"Thank you, I really appreciate your help," said Edward.

"Don't thank me. I should be thanking you for all you've done and are still doing. If you'll still alive after this whole ordeal is over, I'll see to it that you're rewarded."

"I don't need any kind of reward or recognition," said Edward, "My brother's health and happiness is payment enough for me."

The Brigadier General smiled, and grasped Edward's hand, giving is a single pump. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you. The same goes for you." With that, he turned and began heading back into the wilderness, on his quest to be reunited with Al and Roy.

**_Thanks for reading, now please leave me a review! Also, feel free to check out some of my other stories, as I either have just updated them or will very soon. Have you all checked out my oneshot "Lost and Found Characters" yet? If not, you'd better check it out, before I sic zombie Ed on you. Heh. I'm going to be uploading another oneshot soon too, though I have no idea whether it'll stay a oneshot. We'll see. Hehe._**

**_Oh, by the way, one of my readers, Alchemy Otaku, is writing a story based off of my "Lost and Found Characters" story. It's really good, you should go and read it. It's called "One Last Chance"._**

**_Okay, I'll leave you alone for now. Thanks for reading, now please review!_**


	8. Chapter 8

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Finally, an update for this story! Sorry that it took so long, I was a bit short on inspiration for this story. Well, sort of. Heh. I had the idea for this part of the plot for some time. My problem is simply waiting for the right mood to hit when I can actually think to write it down properly. If I'm not feeling "into" the story, I can't write very well. Sigh. Maybe that makes sense, maybe it doesn't. I barely make sense to myself right now. Heh. I'm sleepy and tired, so yeah. Hehehe. Oh well, I don't have to go to work tonight, so I don't have to go to sleep right now if I don't want to. I may have to report for jury duty tomorrow morning though. Double sigh. Not something I'm looking forward to. I'll make lemons into lemonade though. If I have to serve on the jury, I'll have something else I can write about for "The Customer from Heck". Hehehe

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own. Don't know why I post these disclaimers, since everyone knows that. Don't know why I'm starting my sentences with "don't", since that's bad grammar.

Edward marched through the woods towards the spot where he had seen Al and Roy last. He liked how fast he was able to move, having a living body again, but he had lost his spirit sight in doing so. He couldn't see what good it would do to be able to move quickly without knowing where to go. Maybe he should allow himself to die again by taking off the stone. He could always put it back on.

He grasped the stone and started to lift it off his neck, only to fall to his knees, gasping for breath. That was really weird. It was almost like the stone wouldn't let him remove it. But that was silly. He grasped it again, and again tried to remove it from his neck, only to have the same reaction. What the heck was going on?

He understood that the Brigadier General who gave this to him wouldn't have been able to predict this reaction, since he didn't really know anything about the stone, but Ed couldn't help but wonder what was actually happening. Was this some sort of side effect, like equivalent exchange? Was this stone even related to alchemy in some way? It definitely wasn't the Philosopher's Stone, he knew that much, but what was it, anyway? He hadn't even bothered to consider that before.

Oh well. He shrugged and stood up, and brushed his pants off. He was just going to have to find Al and Roy the conventional way: search them out on foot. He just hoped he remembered how to do that. It had been a year since he'd tried traditional human techniques. He knew Al better than anyone though. If anyone could find Al, he was sure that he could. He just hoped that Roy was near to Al, otherwise he was going to be very difficult to find.

He continued to press through the woods until he caught the distinct sensation of moisture in the air. He knew he was near a river. Al liked rivers, he always had. Chances were good that if there was a clearing anywhere around this river, that they would probably be camped at it. Ed walked along the shore of the river, looking for a clearing, and sure enough he found one. It had obvious signs of recent occupancy as well. Yep, he had found them. At least, he hoped so. He would have to wait around and see if they came back.

It began to rain a little bit, and he was able to feel it for the first time in a year. While the sensation was intriguing, he wasn't too keen on being rained on, so he went and hid inside a hollow tree trunk that was nearby. He was still able to keep an eye on the campsite from there.

By and by, Al came into view, wandering by the river, getting soaked to the bone. "That...stupid...Colonel," said Al. He was never able to say anything worse than 'stupid' or 'idiot'. His mouth was always clean. "I told him that it was going to rain soon, and that we should head back, but noooooo..."

He started looking around for a dry place to hide, so Ed called out to him. "Brother?" Al turned, trying to find the source of the voice. Ed chuckled and called to him again. Al turned in the direction that Ed's voice was coming from. He still couldn't see Ed, but he knew where he was now. He walked over towards the hollow tree.

He crawled inside it and sat down, shivering from the cold. Ed chuckled. "Here, let me fix that for you, Al." He clapped his hands together, and then placed them on Al's wet clothes. Blue light flared up out of his hands, and suddenly, Al was dry.

"Thanks, B-Brother...wait, your hands!" He had suddenly realized that he didn't feel any bones through Ed's left glove. He looked up into Ed's eyes, and was shocked to find that his face was fully whole and restored. What the heck?

Ed smiled. "It's all due to this." He held the stone pendant out for Al to see. "A Brigadier General gave it to me."

Al was dumbfounded. "Does that mean that...you're alive?"

Ed nodded. Tears were starting to come to his eyes. One slipped down his cheek, and Al noticed it. Yes, his brother was definitely alive. Al started to cry himself, and threw his arms around his brother. He had never expected that his brother would ever come back to life. Ever.

Ed let him hug him without saying anything for a few minutes, and then spoke up. "Just understand, Al," said Ed, "That my life is contingent upon my wearing this stone. I can't imagine that I'd be able to wear it forever without something wearing out. Just the chain alone would break after awhile of my wearing it."

Al nodded. "I understand, Brother, but you're alive NOW. That's all that matters."

Ed smiled. "Yes, I'm alive for now."

Before long, the two brothers heard the distinct sound of a man calling, "Alphonse? Alphonse, where did you go?" They both chuckled to each other. Roy had finally returned.

"We're in here!" Al called to Colonel Mustang.

"We?" he said. He poked his head into the hollow tree trunk, and gasped. Ed chuckled and explained the whole thing to him. Roy looked like he was about ready to faint. He couldn't believe it.

"Boy," said Roy, "You just refuse to stay dead, don't you, Ed?" A smile toyed at the corner of Ed's lips. Roy had called him Ed instead of Fullmetal, for once. Oh, he pretended not to notice, but in reality he liked it. He respected the guy, no matter how much he tried to pretend he didn't.

Roy cleared his throat. "So then, Ed, tell us, how are things back in Central?"

"Well, the authorities are definitely searching for you two," said Ed, "But that one Brigadier General is working to try and push his weight around to try and help you."

"But the people involved in this case are even above a Brigadier General," protested Roy.

"I know," said Ed, "That's why you have to stay hidden still."

"But if you found us, then they might be able to find us," said Roy.

Ed laughed. "I only found you because Al's my brother. I know his every move."

Al turned to Ed. "Didn't you use your spirit sight to find us?"

Ed shrugged. "I seem to have lost that once I came back to life."

"I guess that makes sense," said Al, "But couldn't you just take the stone off, and well, die again, to use your spirit sight, and then put it back on?"

"I tried that," said Ed. "I don't know why, but for some reason, I can't remove the stone." Al gave Ed a quizzical look, to which Ed replied, "I don't know why, I just can't."

Al was silent for a moment, and didn't say anything. He looked down at the floor for a second. Finally, he looked back up, and said, "Hey, Brother, the rain stopped. Don't you think we'd better get going?"

"What?" said Colonel Mustang, "Now that your brother's back, you don't ask me for my opinion anymore?"

Al shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry."

Colonel Mustang scoffed and then stood up. "Well, come on, let's get going," he said. Ed and Al stood up and stretched, and then fell into step beside the Colonel. They continued to walk along the river. They didn't know where they were heading, but they knew that they just had to continue on their path, wherever it took them.

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There's your chapter for you. Hope you liked it. Now please REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

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Hello, everyone! Welcome back! I recently took a walk on a nature trail, so you'll probably see that reflected in this chapter, with all the descriptive details. (Hey, you've been wanting me to do that anyway, right?) Heh, yeah, that was pretty fun.

Also, I just turned on anonymous reviews, because I was curious about how many reviews I was missing by not doing so. Please, please, PLEASE don't abuse the priveledge, or it will go back to the way it was. Constructive criticizm is okay, but no flames, please! You already know that I don't protect Ed (or anyone) in my stories. Please don't flame me for that. If you want fluff, go find another author. I'm not much for writing fluff. Sorry.

Anyway, hope that you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Hmmm...what would happen if I took out every other word of "I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist"? Let's see...I...own...Alchemist! Perfect! See Ed? I KNEW I owned you! W00t!

The wind whispered through the trees as the three continued to make their way through the woods. It would have been quite a pleasant day were they not being pursued by the military. A bird called in the distance. Al suddenly stopped and asked, "Wait...do any of us know where we're even going?"

Roy shook his head and Ed shrugged. "We were just wandering," said Ed.

Al rubbed his hair and muttered, "I still wish you had your spirit senses, Brother."

"I do too," Ed admitted, "I guess that there were a few good things about being dead. But, putting that aside..." He continued to move on.

Al ran to catch up with him. "Brother, shouldn't we find out where we are, so that we could make a good plan on where to go? We wouldn't exactly want to walk right into a trap, would we?"

"Good point," Ed admitted. He cast a glance around his surroundings. He found nothing that looked even vaguely familiar. "It looks like one of us will have to climb up a tree, and try to see where we are."

"Are you NUTS?" Al shouted.

"Why, yes," said Ed, "A normal person wouldn't have died and come back again, would he have?"

Al scratched the back of his head. He wasn't sure how to respond to that one. Ed turned his head to the side and looked at the trees. "These tree trunks look a little bit too wide around to climb. I guess that I'll have to try to climb up one of these vines." He grabbed the stem of a thick, woody vine and gave it a sharp tug. It didn't give, so he proceeded to climb up the vine.

With a bit of effort, he finally reached the top. He threw his head back, and let the breeze blow his hair out of his face. He closed his eyes and enjoyed it for a brief moment, then opened his eyes once again and looked around. He could see the river from up here. He knew the shape of the river from looking at maps of the area. So, they were heading towards that curve in the river. If they kept walking that way, they would be...

He slid back down the vine. "I know where we are now. Come on, Al, Roy, let's go." Al and Roy looked at each other, shrugged, and proceeded to follow Ed. After all this time, they had learned that it was best not to ask questions.

The three headed deeper and deeper into the woods. Roy didn't exactly know where they were going, heck, he wasn't even sure that Ed knew, but he was sure of one thing, that they were getting as far away from Central as they possibly could.

The blades of grass now came up to their shins, and as they walked they would tear it loose, causing the green juice to stain up their clothes. They were going to smell very strongly of grass by the end of the day.

"Brother," Al panted, "I'm tired, can't we stop and rest for a little bit?"

"Can you make it a little further?" asked Ed, "There are some rocks up in the distance. We might be able to find some shelter up there."

"I suppose I could get that far," Al said.

Soon, they came to a very small creek with a log bridge that had toppled down over it. Ed jumped onto it first and tapped his feet on it to test the sturdiness. "It's all right. You guys come across." He ran to the other side, and was soon followed by Roy and Al. Al had nearly lost his footing and fallen into the creek, but Roy had caught him just in time.

"Thanks," Al sighed.

"No problem," said Roy, "We all get tired sometimes, and need a helping hand." Al smiled and carefully stood back up and made his way across the log.

Soon they were at the rock formation, and were looking for a decent place to take shelter, when they noticed a small, worn-out shed nearby. Al was really tired, but he perked up a little bit at the sight. The three agreed to go and check it out.

The shed turned out to be a tiny abandoned house that stood about six feet tall, from floor to ceiling. It also had a slight tilt to it, but not enough to make it unsafe. Ed whistled. "Wow, this would be a great place to stay. It could keep us out of the wind and the rain. This was a good find, Al."

"I never would have found it if you hadn't have continued to push me on," Al replied. Ed smiled, and said nothing.

In no time, Al had collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion. Ed and Roy just looked at each other, shrugged, and then went outside to find some twigs to build a fire.

"So, Fullm...uh, Ed," Roy coughed, "You're really...alive...now?"

Ed laughed. "I thought that you already had caught on that I was."

Roy replied nervously. "Well, I'm trying to accept it, but it's just so hard to get a grasp on the idea of you being alive. I mean, coming back from the dead and all..."

"I understand," said Ed, "It's hard enough for me to understand as well. I can't help but wonder if there's a catch to it though."

"If it's related to alchemy, then there probably would be," said Roy, "Equivalent Exchange, after all."

"Yeah, you're right," said Ed, "But I'm not sure whether this stone is related to alchemy or not." He lifted the stone from his chest and examined it. "I don't even know what it is, and here I'm supposed to be an alchemist and know every substance in the world." Ed smacked his head. "I even know the substance of the Philosopher's Stone, for crying out loud!"

"Yet this one eludes your knowledge," Roy commented. Ed nodded. Roy sighed. "Well, I guess we'll find out sooner or later, won't we?" Ed chuckled and started to gather some sticks.

Soon both Ed and Roy had an armload of sticks each, and were heading back to camp, when they suddenly heard a shout come from behind them. They both turned around and were shocked to find a bunch of military personnel pointing guns at them and commanding them to put their hands over their heads.

They were both frozen in shock for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then, Ed threw down the sticks in his hands, clapped his hands together, and slapped them to the ground. A wall rose up between him and Roy, and the group of military personnel. Ed performed another transmutation, and this time formed a hole in the ground.

"I've formed a tunnel for you, Roy, now duck down there and get out of here! Don't let them catch you, no matter what."

"But what about YOU?" asked Roy.

"Don't worry about me," said Ed, "Just go!"

"I still outrank you, you know, i Fullmetal /i ," he said with a slightly derogatory tone in his voice.

Ed sneered. "I'm still on the death record, aren't I? That means that rank doesn't apply. Now just go!"

Roy realized that he had lost that argument, so while shrugging, he hopped into the tunnel. Ed sealed it back up, and then stood up, waiting for whatever was about to come his way.

The military personnel made short work of the quickly erected wall, and soon were upon Ed, trying to force him to surrender, which of course, he was not about to do. Having no other alternative, they unloaded their guns upon him, and Ed keeled over, dead.

The men lowered their guns and waited, not knowing what to expect. They had heard rumors of this kid coming back from the dead, and they weren't sure if any of them were true. They weren't about to let down their guard for this kid.

After a few minutes, Ed's eyes flew open once again, and he gasped for breath. The men jumped back in fear. Ed sat back up and examined his wounds, which to his surprise, weren't there. He looked up into the shocked faces of the men nearby.

It must be the stone, he thought, it won't let me remove it, nor will it let me die. Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?

He decided that he could make use of this, regardless of what the case was, so he stood up, dusted his pants off, and turned to look at the men standing around him.

"You obviously all know what I'm capable of," he began, "And it's apparent that you are powerless against me. So unless you want me to unleash my wrath upon you, I'd recommend that you guys hightail it out of here." He sent them one of his death glares combined with one of those evil, mischievous grins he gives when he's really up to something. It sent shivers down the spines of all the men in the area. They didn't wait any longer. They turned and ran for cover.

Ed chuckled and then turned to head back for the camp. He couldn't die. This was just wrong somehow. What was going on, anyway? What was this stone? He couldn't find any logical answers to these questions, so he just shrugged them off for the time being. He was needed now by Al and Roy. He would live for them now.

_****_

Hope you enjoyed that chapter. Leave me a review, and tell me what you think. Just be nice, okay? It's okay to leave constructive criticism, I can handle that, just no flames, please! Hope to see you all around again soon! Take care!


	10. Chapter 10

**_Wow, I actually managed to get another chapter written within a short amount of time! What's gotten into me? Hehe...Well, I'm sure that none of you are complaining, hehehe. Heh, I knew where I was in the story, and I know where I wanted to go with it, but I wasn't sure how to get from here to there, so I finally was able to come up with this "bridge" chapter, that will help connect the two halves, hehe. So, um, yeah. In the next chapter, I'll finally be giving you some answers. At least, I think so. There aren't many chapters left to this story, I can tell you that, but I don't know just how many yet. We'll see._**

**_Disclaimer: Don't own. PM me if you don't know what I don't own, because I've never met anyone that stupid before, and want to meet you!_**

Ed made his way back to the shack and found Roy sitting outside, waiting for him. "Well," said Ed, shrugging his shoulders, walking closer to Roy, "I guess that we're going to have to move on again now that they've spotted us so close to here."

"I don't think so," said Roy. Ed shot him a quizzical look, but said nothing, waiting for his explanation. "My intuition tells me we should just wait here."

"Intuition?" Ed said as he scoffed. "Why would you believe in something so unscientific?"

Roy chuckled. "You've only been alive a few days, and you're already losing touch with the spiritual realm. My intuition never lies to me, and I've found that it always works for the best when I follow it. If that means staying here where they can easily find us, then so be it."

Ed sighed and let his shoulders sag. Roy had obviously already made up his mind, and there would be no persuading him otherwise. "Fine!" Ed said with a wave of his hand, "But don't expect me to come and save your hide when you get caught and dragged into court and…"

"I understand," said Roy, putting up his hand, "You're not responsible for what I do. You never were, for that matter. Just trust me on this one. Things will work out. I know it."

Ed shot him a glare, but refused to say anything as he turned around and strutted into the shack. He wasn't going to talk to Roy right now; it would just make him too angry.

He carefully ducked his head under the crossbeams in the ceiling, since it was such a short house, and made his way over to where Al was still sleeping. He stood there and smiled for a moment, noticing how sweet Al looked when he was asleep. He looked like he had not a care in the world. Ed shrugged. He wished he could be like that, not worrying about anything. He yawned and then lay himself down beside Al. In spite of all the thoughts and questions plaguing him, his eyes soon drooped heavy, and he fell asleep.

The next thing Ed knew, Roy was shaking him awake and telling him to come outside. He didn't know why Roy was being so demanding right now, but he decided not to argue. So, he rubbed his eyes, stood up and stretched, and then stepped outside…and froze.

There were a lot of military personnel standing outside: officers this time, not merely soldiers. What were they doing here?

"So it is true," one of them said, "The FullMetal Alchemist really HAS come back to life."

Ed said nothing.

"Why don't you say something, Major Elric?" another one asked.

Still nothing.

"We're not here to hurt you, if that's what you're wondering," said a third.

No response yet.

"Listen," said the man who had last spoken, "We have orders to escort the three of you to an awards ceremony, where the three of you will be honored for your selfless deeds in protecting our land at the expense of your own safety."

Ed shot the man a questioning glance and finally managed to ask, "W-What?"

The man smiled a little bit, and said, "You heard right. You will not be punished for what you did, but rewarded. All three of you. The Brigadier General that you had previously communicated with managed to get his information all the way up to the Fuhrer, and the Fuhrer overruled all that that previous officer had set in motion. So come, please, let me escort the three of you there."

Ed was a bit shaky, and didn't know what to think, but he slowly managed to nod his head and extend his hand to the man. Had he really done it? He accomplished his mission? So soon? Part of him was rejoicing, but at the same time, another part was regretful. If he'd accomplished his mission, that would mean that he would have to go back to the spirit world. That would mean that he couldn't be with Al.

He had only been given leave to come here during the duration of the mission, no longer. How could he explain that to Al? Or to himself?

The man noticed Ed's look of deep thought and hesitation, and asked, "So, are you coming?" Ed snapped out of it suddenly, and nodded his head.

Later that day, the three found themselves sitting in a big room with a lot of influential people gathered around. Ed wasn't paying much attention to what was going on. He had much too much on his mind.

Someone came up to the microphone and started speaking some big speech about something or other that Ed wasn't picking up on. He didn't even hear when the three of them were called up to the platform; he just kind of guessed by the fact that Colonel Mustang and Al both got up at the same time, so he figured that he should too.

"For outstanding acts of bravery, selflessness, and courage, I award you each with these medals," said someone who was standing before them. Ed guessed that it was the new Fuhrer that had taken over after King Bradley was defeated. He didn't particularly care who it was though, he didn't care what happened at this ceremony. He knew that he was going to die soon and be separated from Al again. Would he suddenly be called back as soon as the medal was pinned onto him? He hoped not. How would people react…how would Al react, for that matter, to see him keel over on the spot? The medal was pinned onto his chest, but nothing happened.

"And Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist, for disregarding your own life in order to save the lives of your brother and your country, I award you the rank of Lieutenant Colonel."

Ed's eyes fluttered open. "What?...n-No!" he stammered. He didn't want them to fuss over him if he was just going to die again, but nobody caught that intonation in his words. They just thought he was being humble, so the entire auditorium broke into laughter. That was all that Ed remembered the rest of the night.

His mission had been completed. He'd saved Amestris. Nothing had happened. He'd gotten a medal. Nothing had happened. He'd even been promoted. Still, nothing had happened. When was he going to leave?

Then he remembered the stone around his neck. This stone was probably keeping him from moving on. That couldn't be a good thing. He had only been permitted to come into this realm again to save Al and Amestris. He wasn't supposed to stay any longer than that. The consequences were sure going to be severe if he didn't find a way to get back to the spirit realm soon.

Ed sighed as he sprawled out in his bed back in his and Al's old dorm room. It felt good to finally be out of the woods. "Wasn't tonight an exciting night, Brother?" said Al.

"What? Oh…I guess," replied Ed half-heartedly.

"What's the matter, Brother? You sound kind of…down."

"It's nothing," said Ed.

"Tell me what's going on," said Al, demandingly.

"Well…it's just that…" Ed began.

"It's just that what?" asked Al.

"It's just that I'm supposed to be dead now."

"What?" asked Al, confused.

"As soon as the mission was completed, I was supposed to have moved on, returned to the spirit realm."

"You mean, you were supposed to have died again?"

Ed nodded. "Yeah. But I think this stone is keeping me from dying."

"And that's a bad thing?" said Al.

"I think so," said Ed.

"But I haven't noticed any ill consequences from you not being able to die yet," said Al.

Ed suddenly grabbed his chest and clamped his eyes shut so hard that tears began running down the sides of his face. He started hyperventilating, and his grip tightened on his chest.

"Brother! What's the matter?" said Al, as he ran over to Ed and shook him. After a few minutes, Ed finally relaxed again, and the pain stopped. He heaved a sigh of relief, and then looked up into Al's concerned gaze. "What happened, Brother?"

"I don't know. I've never felt anything like that before."

"I'll get you a doctor," Al decided.

"No, wait-" but it was too late. Al was already on the phone, calling the nearest doctor that could come. Ed sighed and lay back in his bed in submission, while muttering, "I'm fine, Al," as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

**_Hope you liked the chapter. Leave me a review, okay? Thank you so much for all the reviews on the last chapter, including the ones from the anonymous reviewers! I really appreciate it. Death's Scythe, do you have an e-mail address or something? I usually respond to the kind of reviews you leave, but I can't respond to you! Waah! See you all soon, I hope! Hehe._**


	11. Chapter 11

**_What? Another chapter so soon? Yeah, I've got a bit of inspiration for this story, finally, so I figured that I might as well write while it's there. If I'm lucky, the inspiration might even last long enough for me to finish the story, who knows? We'll see, hehe._**

**_Disclaimer: I still disclaim. No need to say anything witty to get across the point that I don't own FMA, right?_**

"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Al asked the doctor for the fifth time in a row.

"Like I said before," the doctor said patiently, "There is nothing physically wrong with your brother. I don't know what's going on. Physically, he's in perfect health. It's been a long time since I've seen someone as healthy as he is. If something's wrong with him, it's not a physical problem."

"Then what could it be?" Al asked.

The doctor sighed and picked up his bag as he turned to leave, then turned back to Al and said, "It could be a spiritual problem. Look into that."

Al said nothing as he watched the doctor leave the room and close the door behind him. A spiritual problem? What would cause that?

"I told you I was fine," said Ed as he lay back down in his bed and tried to go to sleep.

"You are NOT FINE, now quit putting on that tough stunt," said Al, "Or I'll sic Winry on you." He had thought that the mention of Winry might cheer Ed up, but it only made him frown.

"How is Winry lately, anyway?" said Ed.

Al came to the sudden realization that Ed hadn't seen or heard from Winry since he had come back. Winry didn't even know that Ed was alive, for that matter.

"Oh…well…" Al hesitated, "She was fine the last time I saw her, but I could tell that she never stopped thinking about you."

Ed snuggled his hands up underneath his chin as he tried to get more comfortable in his bed. "She never stopped thinking about me, huh?"

Al shook his head. "Although, I'm sad to say, that she doesn't even know that you're alive yet."

Ed finally managed to turn over onto his back and look up at Al. "Well, maybe I should give her a call then. If I don't talk to her before I end up dying again, she's surely going to kill me."

They both chuckled at this little joke, and then Al said, "So, then, when did you want to call her?"

"Well…right now would be fine."

"Right now? But it's so late!"

"But I don't know how long I'm going to live," said Ed.

Al nodded that he understood, and then he picked up the phone and dialed Winry's number. The phone rang for a long time, which was understandable, considering how late it was, but finally the other end picked up and a sleepy voice said, "Hello?"

"Hi, Winry, yeah," said Al, "I'm sorry that I'm calling so late, it's just that-"

"Al?" her voice brightened up at the mention of his name, "It's been a while since I've heard from you. How are you doing?"

"Oh, uh, I'm fine," Al stammered, "But, uh," he tried to begin his explanation.

"Look, Al," Winry interrupted. Al heard some rustling of papers on her end of the line, and then she continued, "In the newspaper there are all these headlines about that experiment you were doing, you know? For some reason, they keep mentioning the FullMetal Alchemist in the story, like he's alive or something. Why is that?"

Al chuckled nervously. "Uh, well, yeah, that's because, strangely enough…he is."

"He IS?" Winry shouted, "And you never told me? How could you-"

Al interrupted her quickly, "It's not that, Winry! It's just that…It's just that, well, you might not believe this but…He just came back to life a few days ago."

Winry scoffed. "Yeah, and you expect me to believe that."

"Well, would you like to talk to Brother himself and ask him?" asked Al, "He's right here in this room."

"HE'S THERE?" she shouted, "PLEASE LET ME TALK TO HIM!"

Al quickly handed the phone over to Ed, wished him good luck, and then sat down on the other side of the room to listen to Ed's side of the conversation. Ed picked up the phone, and said into it, "Winry…uh, no, I mean…no, I…yeah, I…I know, it's just that…I…yes, I know." Al silently chuckled to himself. Good ol' Winry was at it again.

After a while, Ed was finally able to spew the whole story out for Winry. It took her a while to get used to it and accept it, but she was grateful that Ed had called her during the time that he had. "If you get another chance while you're still alive," said Winry, "Please call me, will you?"

"I'll try," said Ed. They both said their goodbyes, and then Ed finally hung up the phone. Ed breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's over with." Al chuckled. Yes, they enjoyed talking with Winry, but she was kind of emotional at times, which made it a bit difficult to talk to her at times.

"I'm going to sleep now," said Ed who proceeded to lie back down on his bed and fall asleep almost instantly. Al nodded, and then left the room to find Colonel Mustang.

"So, Ed has something spiritually wrong with him?" Roy asked, not quite understanding, but trying to be open-minded.

"I think so," said Al, "Brother's not that good of an actor. He keeps trying to pass it off like it was nothing, but anything that makes him cry is something really big."

"I should say," said Colonel Mustang, "Could it have something to do with that stone that he's wearing?"

"The stone?" asked Al.

"Yeah, well, that stone gave him back his life, right? Logically, by the laws of Equivalent Exchange, it ought to take something too."

"What could it possibly take? Brother didn't have anything to give, did he?"

Both men went silent for a moment as they thought, then Roy finally spoke up and said, "Your brother had his soul."

"His SOUL?" Al shouted, "You don't mean that-" he stopped in mid-sentence. Suddenly everything made sense. If all those bizarre things that had been happening to Ed had to do with his soul, then…

"We've got to get that stone off of him somehow, if it's taking a part of his soul!"

"Yeah, but how?" said Colonel Mustang. "I suspect that it takes a piece of his soul every time something happens to him that it needs to regenerate him for. Considering how reckless your brother naturally is, he'll keep going until there's nothing left of him."

"And then he'll cease to exist," Al finished. Both men cast their eyes down to the ground. This was worse than Ed dying. At least he still existed in death. This would be…an eternal death, one which he could NEVER come back from.

"The only way I can see to save him," said Colonel Mustang, "Is to destroy that stone. But if we destroy that stone, Ed will die too."

Al tried to fight back tears to no avail. "Brother, why do you always do these things without thinking?"

Roy put a hand on Al's shoulder. "He was just trying to help us out. It's not your fault. Don't place the blame on your own shoulders."

Al continued to cry for a few minutes without saying a word. Roy kept his hand continuously on Al's shoulder, trying to console him. Finally, when Al was able to regain control of himself, he said, "If the only way to save Brother is to…kill him…" he hesitated, "Then I suppose it would be best to be at the hands of someone that he knows and loves."

He shakily reached into his belt and pulled out a knife. His hand was visibly shaking, and the tears were running down his face full force. "I'll destroy that stone so that he can move on and continue to exist," said Al, "I need to do this quickly, while I still have my courage."

Roy said nothing, but watched as Al shakily stood up and quickly made his way out of the room. Roy sighed and shook his head. "I only wish that I had your courage, Al."

**_Ooh, a cliffy! (Darn, now you guys are getting me to use THAT stupid word! First it's "chappie", not it's "cliffy". What's with you guys, making me use these words? Hehe.) Leave me some reviews, and I just might update sooner. Just no flames, okay? All flamers will have to compete in a battle with Roy Mustang. I'm betting on Roy, he's the best flamer there is! (Okay, bad pun, heh.)_**

**_I might not be able to update for a few days, because of the library's odd hours during the next few days, but we'll see I guess. Hope to see you all soon!_**


	12. Chapter 12

_**Hey, everybody! Yes, finally, the next chapter! W00t! Hehe…okay, I'm kind of in a silly mood today (which probably makes it obvious that I wrote this chapter several days ago, since it's absolutely NOT silly, hehe.) Hope that you like it.**_

_**Disclaimer: Incoming message from the Big Giant Head in three…two…one…I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Um…yeah…okay…now I'm just getting too weird.**_

Al placed his hand on the doorknob of his and his brother's dorm room. He tried to turn it, but his hand slipped off. He was so nervous that his palms were sweating. If there was any way, any way at all that he could get out of doing this, then he would jump at it in a heartbeat, but he couldn't just sit back and let his brother's soul deteriorate until there was nothing left.

Al took a deep breath and then grabbed the doorknob again. He gripped it harder this time, and turned it. It still slid in his slick hands, but this time, he was able to open the door. The door swung open on its hinges with a creak that seemed a bit too loud for Al's liking.

Al just stood there in the doorway, staring into the room. Ed was sleeping peacefully on his bed. Would it be better to wake him, tell him what he needed to do, and hope he'd cooperate, or would it be best to do it by surprise? Even if he were to awaken Ed and explain the whole thing to him, what if Ed decided that he didn't want to cooperate? Then he would constantly be looking over his shoulder at Al, not trusting him.

Al sighed. Either way, he was most likely going to blow Ed's trust in him for the next lifetime, even though this was for his brother's own good. He might never trust him again.

A tear rolled down Al's cheek. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. He took a step into the room. The floor creaked and Al snapped his head up. Ed hadn't moved or noticed. He wiped his brow, and then carefully took another step. That one was quieter, so he took a third. He kept inching closer and closer until he was standing right over Ed.

Ed's eyes were closed and he was breathing softly. A slight smile toyed at the edge of Ed's lips like he was having some sort of pleasant dream. This only made Al's stomach tighten into a knot. Al blinked back more tears and then told himself that he had to do this for his brother's sake.

He firmly gripped the knife and then raised it over his head. The faster he did this, the better. He was about to bring it down, when suddenly Ed mumbled, "Al" in his sleep.

Al stopped short, and dropped the knife. He couldn't do this. There was just no way he could kill his own brother. Not even if it would help him.

The knife clanked to the floor, and Ed opened his eyes. "What was that?" he said. Al stepped back a couple steps. He started bawling and couldn't say a word in response to his brother's question. "Al? What is it?" said Ed, sitting up.

He surveyed the room and found the knife on the floor. Taking the situation in at a glance, he eyed Al and said, "Al…can it be…were you…trying to kill me?"

Al dropped to his knees and started to cry even harder. Ed got up from his bed and walked over to Al, picking up the knife on the way. "Al," he said as he examined the knife, "I've always trusted your judgment…but why?"

Al was still crying uncontrollably, but finally managed to sputter out, "Brother…I…I…don't want you to die!"

This confused Ed. "Then…why were you trying to kill me, Al?"

"Brother," said Al, "That stone is killing you. It's destroying your soul. I was just going to try and destroy that stone, but…that would've killed you too…and…Brother, I'm so sorry!" Al started crying uncontrollably once again.

A look of realization and understanding dawned on Ed's face, and he sank down to his knees beside Al, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Al, it's okay, I understand," he said, "That must've been hard for you to even get as far as you did."

He pulled his hand off of Al's shoulder and looked at the ground. "So…this is the equivalent exchange then, isn't it?" Al nodded and continued to sob. Ed stood up and walked over to the window with his hands behind his back, as if he were thinking. "I always knew that there was some catch to this stone bringing me back to life, I just never knew what it was. That would explain that pain in my chest then," he said, "And why I couldn't remove it, since it had already taken a part of my soul, and I was too weak without the stone around my neck."

He paused and listened to Al's sobbing for a few moments before he continued his soliloquy. "Then, if this stone keeps removing a part of my soul every time I hurt myself, then I'm eventually going to cease to exist, aren't I?" Al continued to cry. There was nothing else he could do. Ed turned around and looked at him with a look of pity on his face.

"Don't cry for me, Al," said Ed, "Perhaps we can find a way to destroy this stone yet. Destroy it so that no one else falls into its trap." He walked over and sat beside Al once again. "Listen, Al, even if worse comes to worst, and we don't find a remedy before I am…well…gone, please make sure to destroy this stone anyway. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. Understand?" Al nodded through his tears. Ed did a slight smile and then patted Al on the back.

"Come on, Al," said Ed as he stood up, pulling Al up beside him, "Dry your tears now. We don't have time to cry. We have some researching to do. We have to find a way to destroy this stone so that I can be set free, and so that it won't trap anyone's soul ever again. We need to plan this out though, since we don't know if there'll be any repercussions from just carelessly trying to break it."

Ed smiled and then grabbed Al's chin and forced him to look into his own eyes. Al's lips quivered, but he finally managed to smile for the first time during that whole discussion. "Yes, Brother," he whispered, "Whatever you say." He then choked and bent over to try and let out a cough.

Ed slipped an arm over Al's back and helped him to walk out of the room. "Don't worry, Al," said Ed, "We'll find a way."

_**Hope you liked that chapter. Review and I'll update sooner. The more reviews, the faster the update, after all. Heh. The only time that that doesn't apply is when I have no inspiration for the story, and this one I have lots of inspiration for. (I pretty much know how I want it to end, so yeah.) Lots of reviews will mean a faster update, so review, okay? Hehehe**_


	13. Chapter 13

**_Wow, it's been awhile since this one had an update, hasn't it? Sigh. Oh well, at least I finally updated it...and at least this story's finally nearing it's conclusion. (Yes, sad, I know. No one ever likes to see a good story end. At least, I hope it's a good story, hehe.) Anyway, hope that you enjoy this chapter._**

**_Disclaimer: In the concern for environmental awareness, this chapter's disclaimer will be recycled from the last chapter's. Go back and read the previous one, as I will not post it here today._**

Ed slammed yet another book shut, sending dust flying everywhere, and then placed his head in his hand and sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere, and he didn't have much time. The way his life had been, as well as how reckless he naturally was, wouldn't allow him to live very long if this stone continued to take a piece of his soul every time he got himself hurt.

Just then, Al walked into the room and set a glass of orange juice in front of Ed. "How are you doing, Brother?"

Ed sighed and rubbed his temples. "Not so good. I can't seem to find anything that can help me figure this stone out."

Al shook his head. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant how are YOU doing?"

Ed lifted up his head and looked into Al's face. It was clouded with genuine worry. Had Al noticed how tired he had been getting lately? Yes, he probably had. Al knew him too well. He would definitely notice if his energy wasn't lasting as long as it used to.

"I'm…a little tired…but I'm fine," Ed finally said.

Al pulled up a chair and sat down by his brother. "How tired are you?" Al placed his hand on his brother's shoulder and looked into his eyes, trying to decipher his physical and spiritual condition somehow.

Ed returned Al a slight smile. "Well, I'm tired enough to want to go to bed, but I have too much to do to bother with that right now."

Al stood back up and looked his brother squarely in the eye. "If you need to go to bed, Brother, then you're going to bed, whether you like it or not." Seeing the look on Ed's face at this statement, Al explained, "That stone could take a piece of your soul away to heal you from hurting yourself with sleep deprivation, you know. We can't afford to let it do that to you. You're going to bed, understand?"

Ed grimaced a bit, but managed to disguise it as a chuckle. "I'm not THAT tired, Al. I'll be fine, really. I just need to stay up for a bit to continue my research, and then I'll go to bed, okay?"

Al bent over so that he was at eye level with his brother. "I'll let you stay up under one condition." Ed raised an eyebrow and continued looking at Al, so Al continued his speech. "If you're really not as tired as I think you are, then you'll be able to resist if I try to force you into bed. If you're strong enough to resist me, you can stay up. Otherwise, it's sleepy time for you, got it?"

Ed wanted to smack Al right then for talking to him like he was a little kid, but he never would have acted on that desire. This was his little brother, after all. He probably would've let Al get away with murder. Ed smiled in spite of himself, and said, "I've never that weak, Al."

"Prove it then." Al grabbed Ed's arm, and before he could react, Al yanked him out of the chair he had been sitting in. He then slapped his hands on Ed's back and thrust him in the direction of the bed, Ed still too dumbfounded to react, since Al's movements had come a little too suddenly for him.

Before he knew it, Al had thrown Ed down onto the bed. Ed tried to get back up, but Al placed his hands on Ed's chest to keep him from doing so. "Brother, if you can get away from me, I'll let you stay up."

"I don't want to fight you, Al," Ed said wearily.

"So, you say that you're holding back on me?" Al said with a tone of mischief in his voice. "That's fine with me, if you want to stay in bed. If you don't win the fight, you're not getting up. I already told you that."

An irritated look spread over Ed's face. This had been slightly amusing at first, but now it was just getting annoying. He began to struggle and flail against Al, but it was all to no avail. Al really was strong…or maybe Ed was just weak. No, he couldn't be weak. Al was just really strong.

Finally, Ed gave up, and he sank his head back on his pillow, gasping for breath. "Al, will you just leave me alone? I'm not a child, and you're not my mother. I'll go to bed when I'm good and ready to."

"And lose part of your soul in the process, no doubt," Al said as he sat down beside his brother, since Ed was too tired now to try and get away from him. "Brother, you should just admit that you're weak right now. It would be better for everyone around."

Ed closed his eyes. "I'm not weak, Al, just tired."

Al scoffed. "In the current state you're in, I doubt that you could even outwrestle Winry."

Ed opened his eyes again and glared at Al. He understood Al's concern for him, but that last comment really hadn't been necessary. "Seriously, Al, I'm fine. I wish that you'd stop worrying about me so much."

"I wish I could, Brother," said Al, soothingly, "But I'll always be your brother, and it's a brother's duty to worry."

Ed smirked just a bit, and then closed his eyes. He didn't have any more will to fight. He was asleep almost immediately.

Al sighed and stood up. He turned and gazed upon the peaceful form of his sleeping brother, and choked back a sob. He wished his brother wouldn't fight so hard. It was only causing him and those he loved pain. Couldn't he see that? Al shook his head, and then grabbed a blanket off of the nearby chair, and covered his brother. "Sleep well, Brother."

* * *

"So, how is he doing?" asked Colonel Mustang as Al entered his dorm room.

Al shook his head sadly. "Not good. He can't even fight against me anymore."

"But didn't you always win in fights against him?" asked Roy as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes," said Al, "But not that easily. Brother was always a worthy opponent…but now…" Al bit his lip to keep from letting out a sob. He didn't want to start crying again. He'd cried enough lately. He didn't need to start up now.

Colonel Mustang sighed. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Your brother has always been quite a fighter, and really strong too, I might add. It pains me to see him like this. Just understand that we are all doing the best we can."

"I understand, Colonel." With that, Al sank down to a chair. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore, so he just decided to let them come out. They needed to come out sometime, and it was better that it be in front of the Colonel than his brother.

Sometime later, when Ed finally woke up, Al and Roy were both in his room, sitting in chairs beside the bed which Ed was still lying in.

"So, what are you doing here?" Ed said bitterly to Roy.

Roy stifled an amused chuckle. "I see that you still have a lot of spunk in you. That's a good sign."

Ed sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I wish that everyone would stop worrying and fussing so much over me. I'm fine, really. I don't like to see people worrying so much."

"I understand that, Ed," said Colonel Mustang, "But you are not fine. The sooner you admit that, the better. You are growing weak because you keep losing another part of your soul to that stone. Everyone is worried that you're going to disappear before anything can be done."

Ed didn't respond. He just continued to stare at the ceiling. He seemed quite bothered by this whole situation, which it was hard to blame him for, since he'd always had to be the strong one for Al's sake. Now he was the weak one, and Al and Roy had to take over. Needless to say, it was hard on him when the tables were turned against him.

"Remember when I was nothing but a zombie?" Ed finally spoke, apparently reminiscing. Roy fixed a stare on him for several moments before responding, as he wanted to choose his words carefully before answering a question like that.

"Of course I remember, Ed, how could I forget? You had possessed me, after all. One doesn't forget something like that very quickly." Ed laughed, but didn't say anything in response. Good, Roy thought, this subject might be something I can use to get him out of this frump he's in.

Roy cleared his throat. "Of course, you weren't a very good zombie." Ed shot him a questioning glance. Roy smiled, and then continued. "Everyone knows that a good zombie will chase people around, trying to eat their brains. You never tried to hurt anyone, so you weren't that great of a zombie."

Ed started giggling at that thought. Hmm…him eating people's brains? The thought had never even crossed his mind before then. "No, I suppose that I did give zombies a good name, didn't I? I'm so terrible, spoiling their reputation."

"Yes, it is terrible, betraying your fellow zombies! Of all the nerve! No wonder you were kicked out of their society and resurrected. You were giving them all a good name, and they weren't about to take that kind of treatment." Roy's eyes twinkled with amusement. He could tell that this silly talk was working. Maybe only a bit, but it was getting Ed to stop feeling sorry for himself.

"I seem to buck the system no matter where I go, don't I?" Ed laughed, and was accompanied by the other two men in the room.

"Yes, you do, Brother," said Al, placing a hand on Ed's forehead. "If you keep that attitude, you'll get through this just fine. Just make sure to take care of yourself in the meantime, so that those close to you don't worry, okay?"

Ed looked at Al and smiled. "I can see when I'm beaten. Fine, I'll try to take better care of myself, but that means that you have to stop worrying. Equivalent Trade, got it?"

Al folded his arms in front of his chest. "That's something kids say. You know there's no such thing as Equivalent Trade." He chuckled under his breath. "Besides, I'll worry if I want to."

"Oh, what a lame excuse!" Ed shouted as he grabbed his pillow and thrust it at Al, causing all those in the room to laugh.

"I think he's feeling a bit better now," said Roy amidst his laughter.

"Yep, I'd agree," said Al, picking up the pillow and taking a good look at his brother, who had a very mischievous grin on his face at the moment, "He's feeling just a little better."

**_Hope you liked the chapter. Please leave me a review if you want me to update soon. Thanks!_**


	14. Chapter 14

**_Hey, everybody! Here's yet another chapter, hope that you like it. Forewarning: It's pretty sad, so don't kill me, I warned you! (Some of my readers like to flip out every time I write a sad chapter, so I thought that I'd play it safe this time and warn you. Heh.)_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Tsimehcla latemlluf nwo ton od I. There, I said it two ways, so hopefully, you'll understand it one way or the other._**

He still couldn't seem to make any progress in his studies. No matter what he tried, he couldn't find any information on this stone, and he could tell that his soul was dying fast. He tried hard to take care of himself now, but apparently, this stone kept taking a piece of his soul for the littlest things, and he couldn't do anything about it. If they didn't find a solution soon, he was going to be lost forever.

Ed slammed shut the books he had been reading, and stretched his arms above his head. He needed a break. Even studying too hard might be enough to cause the stone to take a bit of his soul, and he wanted to slow down the process as long as possible. He stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Brother, where are you going?" asked Al, catching him in the process of walking by without saying anything.

"I'm just going for a walk. Don't worry; I'm not going to do anything reckless."

"I'm coming with you."

Ed was about to object. After all, he didn't need a babysitter; he was twenty-one…or was it twenty? He couldn't tell whether the year he was dead counted or not. Just the same, he was old enough to not need supervision, and he didn't want to be fussed over. However, one look into Al's concerned eyes was enough to cause Ed to clamp his mouth shut without a word. He motioned for Al to follow him, and they both started out the building.

It was actually a bright sunny day that day, as compared to the last few days which had been rainy, so the air was clear and crisp. The wind ruffled their hair as they walked through neighborhoods filled with many different styles of houses on their way to the outskirts of the city. Ed liked to bask in the seclusion of nature, and he didn't care how far he had to walk in order to get there. Al always had to make sure Ed didn't overexert himself because of that.

They finally arrived in a nice spot outside of the city, covered by trees beckoning them to take refuge in the shelter they provided. The two were more than happy to comply. This place really was a welcome retreat from the fast pace of the city.

"Al," Ed said as he sat down on the ground with his back against a tree, "How long do you think I have, before I…" He didn't bother to finish his sentence. He knew that Al would understand what he meant anyway.

Al dropped his gaze to the ground. "I-I don't know, Brother." He then quickly shook his head, and said, "Let's not talk about that right now. Are you hungry? I brought some snacks."

Ed snickered just a bit, but gladly accepted the cookie Al offered him. He quickly ate it up, and then allowed himself to relax and drift off to sleep in this peaceful environment.

Sometime later, he found himself rudely shaken awake. He opened his eyes to look into those of the man that had been in charge of the whole project with Al's explosive. The man glared into Ed's eyes, and said, "You think you're pretty smart, don't you?"

Ed fixed the man with a puzzled look until the understanding of what he was referring to dawned upon him. "Listen," he said, "That explosive would've destroyed the city. I merely went to all the lengths necessary to protect the people here."

The man scoffed. "Yeah, and how do you KNOW that it would've destroyed the city? I happen to know that we took every precaution to avoid having any kind of accident like that occur."

"True, but I happen to know that I was dead at the time, and had access to a lot more information than you do. The city would have been destroyed had I not done what I did. I'm sorry if you don't accept that, but that's the truth."

The man erected himself to his full height and stared down angrily at Edward. He flinched for a few moments in an indecisive manner, and then finally formed his hand into a fist, and landed a punch on Edward's cheek, sending him to the ground.

"That was my life's work! You keep your nose out of other people's business!"

"Anything that involves the life of my little brother is my business," Ed said, quickly regaining his strength and standing up so that the man wouldn't tower over him so much. "I'll interfere every time it's necessary if he becomes involved."

The man smirked. "Yeah, well, we'll see about that." He made a hand gesture, and suddenly, out of the bushes came a whole troop of men sporting guns, all centered on Edward.

Edward gave the man a dirty look. "You wouldn't!"

The man laughed wickedly. "Would you like to put that theory to the test?"

Ed put his hands on his hips and glared at the man. He cast a glance around to see where Al was in all of this, but found that he strangely wasn't there. Maybe he had slipped away for a moment while he was sleeping. That was probably for the best anyway. Al didn't need to be involved in this.

Ed turned back to face the man who was confronting him, and gritted his teeth. "Go ahead and kill me if you must. It won't change a thing."

The man made another gesture with his hands, and all the men instantly started firing at Edward. Most of the bullets missed, but a few hit him in the chest, and Ed keeled over. The man went and stood over Edward's body, grinning evilly, and landed a couple kicks to the motionless being before him.

"That ought to teach you not to interfere with my plans," said the man.

"I don't think I've learned the lesson yet," came a voice from below him. The man jerked his head around in surprise, and saw Ed get up and stand on his feet.

"H-How…?"

"You're hopeless," Ed said, "You have no clue how persistent I am. You can't defeat me."

"I grant that you are indeed persistent," said the man, backing down for a moment, "But I am more so!" The man grabbed an old tree branch that was lying on the ground, and transmuted it into a spear. This surprised Ed a bit, since he hadn't even been aware that this man was an alchemist. It nearly caught him off guard, but he managed to dodge when the man thrust the spear at him.

"You think you're pretty swift, don't you?" the man sneered. He turned and lunged at Ed again, only to have Ed once again jump out of the way. This man just couldn't accept when he was beaten, could he?

Ed braced himself as the man was about to come at it again, when he heard a familiar voice call, "Brother!"

Ed turned his head in the direction of the voice and called, "Al! Stay away from…" He didn't get to finish his sentence, for the distraction had been enough for the man to drive his spear into Ed's chest.

"Brother!" Al screamed, running over to where Ed lay on the ground, gasping for breath. "Brother, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" He began crying. "If I hadn't left…and if I hadn't distracted you…this never would have happened! I'm sorry, Brother, I'm sorry!"

Ed weakly reached a hand up to stroke Al's face. "Al, don't worry about it. You actually did me a favor. See? The stone was smashed in the process. I'm no longer bound to this body. I'll be moving on soon." His breathing began to get shallower as he waited.

"No, Brother, you can't die! Not now, please…please try to stay alive! I'll run and get help." Al sprung up and was about to run off, but Ed's hand grabbed a hold of Al's, and wouldn't let him leave.

"No, Al, don't. It's my time to go. I'll be gone before you get back. I'm dying fast, and there's nothing anyone would be able to do. I'm bleeding internally, so I won't be able to exist in this body much longer. I just want to be with you one last time before I go. Please don't leave."

"Brother…I-I…" Al couldn't find words to say, and tears clouded his vision. What was he supposed to do, just sit here and watch his brother die?

Ed put a finger to his lips to indicate that Al needn't say anything. He grabbed Al's hand and squeezed it one last time. "Thank you, Al, for always being there for me. I just wish that I could've always been there for you." With that, Ed smiled up at Al, and then closed his eyes. Al waited for several minutes, but Ed didn't open them back up, and Ed's hand was beginning to grow cold. He knew that he had just lost his brother a second time.

**_Okay, people, I know that that was a sad ending to this chapter, but you shouldn't be so surprised about that, considering that it's me writing it…and that this whole story's been like that. Anyway, I have one more chapter to write, so please come back soon. No flames though, okay? Thank you very much. Hope to see you again soon._**


	15. Chapter 15

**_Finally, the big day has arrived! This is the last chapter, finally! Hope that you all like this chapter. It turned out better than I thought, in my opinion. Hopefully yours will be the same, heh. Feel free to let me know what you think, but no flames, okay?_**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Hmmm...someone really like my disclaimer from yesterday, wonder why? Anyway, I don't own FullMetal Alchemist, but I own you! (Betcha didn't know that, heh.) Okay, just something weird to say. Now on with the story._**

"Al, you have to eat something," said Colonel Mustang, shoving a plate of food in front of Al. Al just pushed it away without a word. Colonel Mustang sighed. Al was persistant, but he was more so. "Alphonse, you have to keep your strength up. Eat something, please!" Al just continued to stare blankly into space as he placed his chin on his hands and stared at the plate in front of him, seeming not to even notice the food present on it. Colonel Mustang decided he'd try once more. "Major Elric, as your commanding officer, I demand that you eat!" He shoved the plate forcefully at Al, and forced him to sit up straight.

Al just stared at the food, then looked at Roy's stern face, shrugged, and finally picked up his fork and began to eat the food. Roy let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't about to let one of his subordinates starve himself to death. He understood how hard this whole ordeal had been on Al, having had to lose his brother...twice...but Al needed to realize that life was still worth living. It was easier said than done though.

Al wolfed down his food, pushed the plate away, and then stood up and left the room without a word. Roy wanted to say something to him, but he kept his mouth shut. If Alphonse needed to be alone right now, he would just let him be. Healing would come soon enough.

Al flopped down on his bed. "Brother, why did I have to lose you again? I just got you back. Why did this have to happen?" He tried to fight back the tears, but it was all to no avail. They came running down his face like rivers. He placed his hands over his eyes, and started having uncontrollable audible sobs. "I'm...such...a...baby...crying...like...this..." he said between sobs. Somehow, he felt he needed to act tough for his brother's sake, yet he couldn't stop crying. Was he failing his brother? Oh, how he hoped he wasn't.

"Brother...wherever you are...please be happy...please don't be disappointed...in me..." Al continued to sob. He flopped over onto his stomach, and tried to bury his face in his pillow to drown out some of the sobbing. This was even harder to deal with than the first time he had lost his brother. Why was that, anyway?

Al suddenly felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I could never be disappointed in you, Al." Al sat up with a start, the sobbing instantly ceasing.

"B-Brother?...Is...Is it really you?" He saw a pale, translucent form that he could barely make out the features of, standing just a couple feet from him. Was this his brother in spirit form? Why was he able to see him, anyway?

"It's me," the being replied. Then, as if reading his thoughts, he said, "You can see me because we're really closely connected, being brothers. Sometimes I think we might have even communicated telepathically while I was alive."

Al nodded in thought. Yes, they had indeed. He remembered that night the last time that had happened. They had to be really close for that to happen, so it only made sense that he would be capable of seeing his brother's ghost now.

"B-Brother," Al stuttered as he tried to find the words to say, "Why are you here? Have I upset you with my crying? I'm sorry, I tried to hold the tears back and be strong, but I..."

Ed put his hand over Al's mouth to silence him. "No, I'm not here because of your crying, Al. It does make me sad to see you cry, but crying is not weakness. You of all people should know that."

Al hung his head. Yes, indeed, he should be fully aware of that. "Why then did you come back, Brother? There's something you need to tell me, isn't it?" He looked back up at Ed. Even though he couldn't see his features clearly, he could still tell that Ed had nodded.

Silence hung in the air for several minutes as both brothers tried to organize their thoughts and feelings. Neither one knew what to say, but they knew that something needed to be said, sooner or later. Al spoke up first, "So...Brother, I guess that one benefit of dying is that your soul is no longer wasting away, right?"

Ed jerked his attention at Al with a start. "Actually, Al, that's what I was coming to tell you. So much of my soul was taken by that stone, that even though I am free from it now, my soul is continuing to fall apart. I can't seem to support my own soul anymore."

"WHAT?" Al yelled, panic clearly evident in his voice. The tears and sobs were about to start up again when Ed again placed his hand on Al's mouth to silence him.

"There's still hope," said Ed. "I can't support my own soul, because I'm just causing it to fall apart, but someone else could support it until my soul heals."

Al pondered what his brother might mean by this for several moments. Someone else support his soul? Wait, that wouldn't mean...

"Do you mean that you need to possess someone in order to continue to exist?" Ed hung his head, and nodded. Al's eyes suddenly opened as understanding dawned upon him. "You were hoping that I would allow you to possess me, weren't you?"

Ed lifted his gaze up and looked pleadingly at Al. "Actually...yes, I was kind of hoping that you wouldn't mind letting me do that. We're so close...and...if I have to share someone's body for so long..."

"I understand that, Brother," Al said, though he was quickly interrupted by Ed.

"I'd be a weak soul for a long time, so I wouldn't be able to control your movements or anything. You'd hardly know I was there, unless we were to speak to each other. Please..."

Ed didn't need to finish his statement, for it was Al's turn to interrupt this time. "You don't even need to ask me, Brother. It goes without saying that I would be happy to allow you to live in me while your soul heals. Actually, that's better than being separated from you by death. This will be a lot easier to deal with than that."

"Then...you don't mind?"

"Not one bit. I'm only too happy to be able to help you for once," said Al, starting to finally cheer up.

Ed smiled. His features were still kind of hard to make out, but Al knew he was smiling, somehow. That must've been the brotherly instinct the two of them shared. "So...Brother...how do we go about doing this? Don't you have to enter my body from another body, or something?"

Ed shook his head. "That was only while I was here on my mission. I had to do everything on my own strength, and that was the only way I could do it. Now, however, the powers that be have sent me here so that I could try and find a host and continue to exist, so I can do a few things a little bit differently this time. All I have to do is move into your body."

Al straightened himself out, and then looked up at Ed. "Then do it."

"Right now?"

"Right now."

The two smiled at each other one last time, since they knew that this was going to be the last time they saw each other's face, and then Ed moved forward, towards Al. He reached out and thrust his hand into Al's body, to give him a bit of a chance to prepare for the feeling he'd receive when his spirit entered his body.

Al jumped a bit at the feeling, since it kind of tickled him, but he really didn't mind it. It didn't hurt or anything, it was just...weird. Ed then proceeded to begin moving into Al's body. Al felt like his senses were a bit overloaded from all this passing through his body that his brother was doing, so he shut his eyes and waited for the moment to pass. He knew that it wouldn't take long.

Before too long, Ed had completely entered Al's body. It took him a few minutes more to actually get himself situated comfortably in this foreign body, which felt quite weird to Al too, but he was dealing with it just fine. After Ed finally was as comfortable as he could get in this borrowed body, Al stood up and ran his fingers down his torso. He still felt quite strange, but that was to be expected, since he could feel the presence of another soul inside his body. He knew he'd get used to it, but still, it was weird.

"Are you alright in there, Brother?" Al asked.

(I'm fine, thank you,) Ed replied back telepathically, (And I'm no longer falling apart. Your soul is strong enough to keep me together. Thank you.)

Al smiled. "You don't need to thank me, Brother. I'm merely returning the favor for all that you've done for me."

Ed smiled inside of Al. (I'm glad that you feel that way, but you still deserve to be thanked. Again, I thank you.)

Just then, Colonel Mustang walked into the room, and caught Al standing up and smiling. A bit puzzled, he asked Al what he was so happy about. Al chuckled a bit, and said, "I'm not sure if you'll believe this."

Roy smirked. "Don't tell me that Ed has come back to life again."

Al laughed. "Well, actually, yes he has, in a way. It's a long story though. Are you sure you want to hear it all now?"

"Why don't you explain it to me over dinner?" asked Roy, starting to make his way out of the room, and gesturing for Al to follow him.

"Is it that time already?" Roy nodded, Al shrugged, and then both men made their way out of the room. This was going to be an interesting conversation.

Life wasn't perfect. They hadn't gotten everything they'd wanted, and they'd had to go through heck just to get what little they had, but they had what they most needed: Each other.

**_Thanks for following along with me on this story, and I hope that you've enjoyed it. Please leave me a review and tell me your thoughts (but no flames, please!), and stay tuned for more stories to come from me, as I'm always writing them, heh._**


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